As you can see in this selection of pellet grill reviews, the act of heating pellets and generating smoke in any pellet smoker is pretty much the same. Yes, some pellet grills use thicker metal, have better thermostats, air flow, racks, drip flow, etc. But the ask any professional BBQ cooker who uses a pellet grill, and they’ll tell you that the quality of your smoke really does come down to the pellets themselves. Here’s what one very astute BBQ pro had to say over at the Pellet Smoke Ring:
With that said, depending on the size of the green an individual may need more pellets to fuel the food. However, a bigger sized pellet grill allows the cook to grill for a large number of people. While a compact grill can easily be taken anywhere. With that in mind, one important criterion that we wanted to take into consideration is how easy the item is to set up.
You visited your friend’s house and saw his amazing pellet smoker. Now you want one. But you don’t want just any pellet smoker. You want the best pellet smoker that you can afford. Now, you could spend a lot of time reading hundreds of pellet smoker reviews, or you could spend a few minutes going over this comprehensive guide that we have prepared. So which pellet smoker is worth your hard-earned dough? We've put together a list of the ones we think make the cut, organized from lowest to highest price. Sorry for the sticker shock—even a low-priced pellet smoker will cost more than many grills, and our first selection lists at $333. These motorized, digitally controlled devices just plain cost more, but believe you me, they are worth it! And all of these selections have won the AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold or Silver Medal.

If you have an older smoker and need a lot of physical maintenance like changing the hopper and the digital control, then changing those two parts may not help. These two changes may cost you $200 – $250 and with a rusty hopper, you will continuously lose the smoke you produce. This is not safe for your health, so in this situation, you should definitely opt to get a new pellet smoker grill.

4 years ago I made a 700 hundred dollar mistake a bought a China made grill it never worked right from day one. My wife suggested that I should replace it. I decided I wanted a us made grill after seeing the yoder series and all of the great reviews I couldn't wait for it to arrive.so glad a bought the ys640 works like a dream, any one reads these reviews and buys another grill you have made a mistake

You want longevity in a pellet grill: As the Traeger brand name has been around for a few decades, you can have some peace of mind that you’re purchasing a grill that should have replacement parts available for the foreseeable future. And Traeger grills tend to have good longevity ratings, working in top condition for several years, as long as you follow the manufacturer’s maintenance recommendations. GrillGrates(TM) amplify heat, prevent flareups, make flipping foods easier, keep small foods from committing suicide, kill hotspots, are easier to clean, flip over to make a fine griddle, and can be easily removed and moved from one grill to another. You can even throw wood chips, pellets, or sawdust between the rails and deliver a quick burst of smoke to whatever is above. Every gas grill needs them.
Joe Traeger designed and developed pellet grills back in 1985 and he patented the design one year after. But these didn’t go into full commercial production until 1988. Because of the patented design, Traeger held a monopoly in the pellet grill market for twenty years. But being a small family-run company, they did not diversify and kept supplying their products only to a select network of stores.
I have owned this pit for over a year and a half now. I previously had a stick smoker which I achieved really good results with but it was time-consuming. But this baby takes it up to a whole new level.everything comes out amazing competition quality. My Family and friends are amazed by these results , The ribs and pulled pork are the best I have ever eaten. My brisket used to always come out average not on this machine.It's extremely juicy and mouthwatering. I would definitely recommend the top shelf and two side probe ports. The heavy duty cover is also top notch I have extremely Highwinds where I live here and the cover works perfect.everything that I have smoked has come out amazing. The juiciest turkey and chicken and even ham first class.I use mine all year even when it's 0° outside just amazed. Pull the trigger and buy this baby you'll never look back. Thank you Yoder for making a great product.

***Update: 11/2014: It's been a year now and I still adore this little grill. I've got a kamado and 3 different kettles and this is by far the most convenient and easy to use. The smoke rings this guy puts on a brisket are amazing and the flavor is the perfect balance of wood flavor without overpowering the meat. I've researched about 15 different pellet grills and I still can't find a better value than what this grill offers

After 10 days of not seeing anything in my email I called them. They told me they had no order. After two weeks and more phone calls then a grill finally shows up but without the cover or the pallets which I paid for and was on the order. Three calls into managers and customer service still not resolved. When I threaten to take the grill back to Costco I was told to go ahead and have a nice day.

From among these 65 products, we have selected the top class pellet smokers out there shortlisting 18 of the best candidates. Then, we have conducted a secondary research and compared their features against each other to find the best 10. Finally, we have compiled this review list of top 10 best rated pellet smokers considering their features, reviews, ratings, review frequencies and how great they were when we tested them out during BBQ parties.

We have reviewed the best pellet smokers on the market today after doing our extensive comparative research. However, there were some hidden gems that could not make it to our top 10 product list because of one reason or another e.g. due to their high prices, unavailabilities in some regions, and other factors. Also, some just failed to get in our top 10 list only because it was a top 10 list and not a top 20 list. Regardless of the reasons, here are a few honorable mentions that failed to make it to this top 10 best pellet smoker review, but are still worthy in their own rights:

The digital controller controls temperatures from 150F to 500F in 5-degree increments; that’s the most precise we’ve found on a pellet grill, and gives you a good, precise burn. There’s also Sense-Mate, a thermal sensor that monitors the smoker’s internal temperature, so you can keep an eye on it remotely on your phone via Wifi, letting you adjust the temperature from the app.

I don’t know why these cookers are referred to as grills. By definition they are not grills. Grilling involves cooking with direct heat and none of the pellet cookers I’ve seen use direct heat; they all use indirect heat. They are more accurately described as smokers/convection ovens. For me what this means is they’re useless for cooking chicken since I like my chicken cooked with crispy/burned skin. I’ve done some experimenting to get the skin to crisp up but always end up with leather skin. They have their place in outdoor cooking but grilling ain’t it. I just bought a Green Mountain and I’m still debating if I’m going to hang on to it. Shame on me for not doing more thorough research first.

Make a wealth of delicious recipes while you're camping or tailgating with the help of this versatile 2-Piece Camp Chef Spatula Se...t. The blades are made of sturdy and durable stainless steel and the heavy-duty handles are contoured for ease of use. The pancake flipper in this cooking spatula set has a long surface for large pancakes and a rounded end for easy non-catch flipping. The turner/scraper is beveled for scraping the grill or griddle and cutting while cooking. In addition, each piece features a handy hanging hole that allows you to store without taking much space. This easy to care for set is ideal for use when camping, hunting or barbecuing and grilling in a backyard. read more

Many of the models require you to clean them up for 30 minutes because you have to take out the gooey deflector plate and the greasy grates in order to scrape them off and wash them until they’re shining. Careful cleaning is required when the grease and carbon are covering the deflector plate. The easy-clean grills typically make the parts more accessible but the amount of cleanup remains the same.
Hey Jeff – I think that due to pellet smokers requiring much of the wood pellet for “fuel” leaving a smaller part for the “smoke” means that you want as much of the smoke to stay in the chamber for as long as possible. Just my opinion. I’ve not used charcoal pellets. Those I’ve spoken with who have used them weren’t extremely happy with the results. Regarding the water pan, I feel that pellet smokers don’t typically require water pans. However, you can surely use one and see how your results go.
What we loved most is that it has a trap door to allow burn pot cleaning after every cooking. It lessened our job of cleaning this pellet smoker by 60%. It is more than amazing because from our research we know that a feature like this will cost twice as much as the Camp Chef. Honestly, this has emerged as our key point when we selected this smoker to be the best in our review.
Second, you’ll have to figure out what BBQ pellets you want to use. There are many different brands, blends, and mixes to choose from, and you’ll likely want to do some side by side testing to see what you like best on what meats. My very good friend and BBQ buddy Shane Draper (ofDraper’s BBQ Rubs and Sauces) really likes to make his own blends — using different woods in different proportions depending on what he’s cooking.
Or the fact that it lives up to its “Ultimate Tailgating Grill” moniker for all you campers out there. You need to watch your roast closely so you won’t have to finish your pork butt in the oven. It’s not quite a “set it and forget it” kind of smoker grill because you still have to make sure that there’s a steady supply of pellets so that it won’t shut down.

Pellets are made from different woods, each of which imparts a distinctive flavor to the meat. Hickory, oak, maple, alder, apple, cherry, hazelnut, peach, and mesquite are among the flavors available. For more about pellets, read my article, The Science of Wood. There is a pretty good forum for people who have pellet cookers at PelletSmoking.com and of course our Pitmaster Club has a lively discussion on them with many active users.

For me, grilling is a way to communicate to the people in my life that I love them and to easily involve others in my passions and hobbies. So, to be able to guarantee perfection in every meal isn’t just about eating well, it’s about reliably being able to put my best foot forward with these people who matter. And the remarkable thing about the Traeger is that you can expect to be able to do the same from the very first time you use it.